1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to male underwear and specifically to a type of undergarment, irrespective of style, that is configured with a discrete front panel to thermally isolate the genitalia from immediate contact with the extreme lower abdomen and upper thighs, i.e., groin regions. Additional to organ-body segregation, selective insulation and/or reflective materials are employed to effect a thermal barrier.
2. Discussion of Relevant Art
Many attempts have been made to enhance male undergarments, for various purposes, including the erotic. The latter, however, is deemed beyond the scope of this disclosure. It is well settled, in the field of medicine, that the close confinement of genitalia, in modern male undergarments, is thermally deleterious to the production of healthy, motile and viable sperm. It is intended here to provide the field of fertility therapy with a garment that does not diverge significantly, in design and function, from conventional underpants, e.g., briefs, shorts or tights. Further, the instant invention, shown in two basic embodiments, is designed to be non-obtrusive, comfortable and unlikely to attract attention to its user in polite society or in public rest rooms. To achieve the function of fertility enhancement, it is necessary to avoid the tendency to wear tight pants or trousers, which is often considered stylish. Unfortunately, body heat generated at the groin area of the body (including the lower abdomen and upper thighs) is often inimical to the male seed. While nature has provided the scrotum, which is pendant by design, to hold the testicles sufficiently away from the body's groin region, so as to maintain a thermal environment conducive to sperm viability, such protection is negated by clothing styles—particularly, underwear. Modern styles (of underpants, briefs, thongs and tights) take forms ranging from boxer shorts, which allow a modicum of scrotal freedom, to highly restrictive and scrotal-confining tights, pouches, thongs and “trunks”. Combined with the wearing of trousers, of even the “regular cut” style, it is intuitive that the temperature in the scrotum will far exceed that of nature's intended environment. There have been many attempts to stylize men's briefs, for many reasons too numerous to address here; however, a search of the U.S. Patent Office Patent Database has yielded a number of patents drawn to such stylization, for whatever reason.
Regarding the search, the patents issued to Connery, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,630 ('630), and Angheluta, U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,345 ('345), are the most relevant. Connery discloses a scrotal cup inside both briefs and shorts, with a pocket section for the penis. Essentially, he shows compartmentalization and segregation in basic form, but with the scrotum contained within the brief, proper. Angheluta shows a brief that is essentially that of '630, but falls short of it in that the scrotum and penis are neither segregated nor separated by insulation material (the patentee merely alleges insulation by the process of placing the scrotum/penis pouch forward of the brief front panel). Connery cannot be said to have suggested separation of the scrotum and penis from the high thermal groin environment because he has retained the scrotal pouch inside the brief (using solely a thong). Richerson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,065 ('065) shows a variation of Angheluta that appears to raise the pouch for the purposes of displaying the covered genitalia more prominently. The article appears to exaggerate size of, and closely confine, the scrotum and penis to the upper groin area, thus losing the pendulous, cooling effect of their natural suspension. The Lehman patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,621,846 ('846), discloses what can be truly characterized as a “brief”, or “thong”; it is effectively an athletic supporter that contains the scrotum in a pouch adjacent to the loin/groin area and allows the penis to hang outside the pouch, covered only by a flap or codpiece. The main limitation of '846 is that it performs primarily an athletic support's function, by clearly constraining any scrotal freedom, but confining it snuggly within the groin area. Plunkett, U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,298 ('298), is an evolution of the Lehman article in that the “brief” of '846 is avoided almost entirely. Here, '298 is a modification of the support, with segregation from the penis and without buttock-encircling straps. The pouch of this garment is essentially the same as '846 and, while the penis is allowed to escape and drape over the top of the pouch, to be covered by a flap element, the article suffers the same limitations as the Lehman device. Although emulating the scrotal pendulum, the device nevertheless confines both organs closely to the groin region. None of the above art provides the instant invention's unique thermal barrier and purposeful ventilation.